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Deafening silence from BigLaw about legal outsourcing

By Melody A. Kramer, Esq.

Just this week the news has been circulating about the unsuccessful attempts of Fronterion LLC who bills itself as an “independent outsourcing advisory” to survey large US law firms about their use of legal outsourcing providers. Why unsuccessful? The ABA Journal reports that according to Fronterion, of the “nation’s top 50 law firms” (“top” obviously meaning “largest”) only one confirmed outsourcing of legal services “to some degree,” four firms denied using outsourcing, and 20 (40%) did not respond at all or “in a sufficiently definitive manner” to even be included. Twenty-five other firms (83% of the responding firms) declined to answer the outsourcing questions.

“No comment.” Is this really what the “nation’s top 50 law firms” have to say on the subject of outsourcing? What’s to hide? If the mode of outsourcing they are using benefits their clients, why not openly say “yes, we use strategic outsourcing to reduce overall costs for our clients” or something similar.

While BigLaw is standing mute, corporate counsel are becoming more vocal about using project attorneys to handle their workload. As reported in The Legal Intelligencer, corporate law departments are “increasingly using project- or contract-based attorneys to help handle an increased workload on a shrunken budget.” “The pool of contract attorneys right now is exceptional” says James LaRosa of JuriStaff in Philadelphia. “What they are getting typically is an attorney with a lot more relevant experience and a lot more real life practice experience.” The full article is worth a read.

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83% of Top US Law Firms Refuse to Say When Male Partners Stopped Beating Their Wives

A new study by Law Without Borders has found that while many male partners at top United States law firms have stopped beating their wives, few firms are willing to answer the simple question: “When did your male partners stop beating their wives?” This reflects a “wall of silence” around an increasingly important development within the legal services industry. For the full report, see http://bit.ly/9hn4UD